Trump plans to ‘take a look’ at deporting Elon Musk

(MENAFN) U.S. President Donald Trump has said he might consider deporting tech billionaire Elon Musk and could task the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with investigating Musk’s government contracts. The remarks come as tensions between the two former allies escalate following Musk’s resignation as head of DOGE and his sharp criticism of Trump’s recent $5 trillion budget bill.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump responded to a question about Musk's deportation by saying, “I don’t know, we’ll have to take a look.” He also remarked that DOGE might need to “go back and eat Elon,” referring to the oversight agency Musk once led. Trump emphasized Musk’s extensive use of government subsidies and claimed the billionaire is angry about his administration’s plans to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate.

“Elon’s very upset that the EV mandate is going to be terminated,” Trump said. “Not everybody wants an electric car.” On Truth Social, Trump reiterated that Musk had long known he opposed mandatory EV adoption, and warned that without subsidies, Musk might be forced to shut down his businesses and return to South Africa — a move Trump claimed would save the U.S. “a fortune.”

“Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!” Trump added in the post.

Meanwhile, Musk continues to publicly criticize Trump’s budget proposal. On Tuesday, he condemned lawmakers who supported the bill, accusing them of betraying their promises to reduce federal spending. He also renewed his call to form a new political movement, the “America Party,” as an alternative to what he called the entrenched “Democrat-Republican uniparty.”

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